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Film Festival kicks off this evening

Posted:

November 3, 2011

Film Festival kicks off this evening

This year’s Film Festival kicks off this evening with our sold out screening of Wuthering Heights. You may have seen our transformation of Leeds Town Hall begin this time last week with the arrival of our giant 38 metre banner across the facade of the building and as we type the pop up Film Festival bar (run by Festival partner Kirkstall Brewery and local favourites North Bar) is getting ready to serve a selection of ales, spirits and soft drinks throughout the event. Leading partners, Kahlua, will also be present at selected gala screenings in the Town Hall serving Kahlua inspired cocktails. In the space between the banner and the bar there is a seating area where you can enjoy your drinks and discuss what you’re seeing and have seen on our huge screen. The bar will open 30 minutes prior to the first screening at Leeds Town Hall and close at 11.30pm.

For those of you that may not have seen our previous announcement, this evening we have director, Andrea Arnold attending our Opening Gala who will be doing a small on stage introduction for the film with Leeds own James Howson (older Heathcliff), Shannon Beer (younger Cathy), Solomon Glave (younger Heathcliff) alongside our director Chris Fell.

Sales for this year’s Film Festival are higher than they’ve ever been and demand for tickets has been phenomenal, if you still haven’t booked yours we would recommend that you book soon to avoid disappointment. If you’re intending to book for a few films it is worth bearing our 6 tickets for the price of 5 promotion in mind, please be aware that this offer is not available online and you are required to contact the City Centre Box Office direct on 0113 224 3801 or visit in person.

Please note that unfortunately due to scheduled maintenance our online ticketing will be unavailable all day this Sunday (6th November). Tickets will be available on the door for screenings on the day but tickets for screenings from Monday 7th November will not be available to book. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and normal ticketing service will resume on Monday 7th November.

Opening weekend guests

It’s not just our screening of Wuthering Heights that we have guests for this weekend, there are a selection of other screenings where we have the directors attending to introduce their films and do Q&A sessions afterwards. On Friday we have Rebecca Daly the director of The Other Side of Sleep attending the screening at 8.45pm in Vue1; The Other Side of Sleep takes the small town murder story and its subjects in it to a dreamlike metamorphosis, reinvigorating familiar themes with deeply unsettling and atmospheric results. Over at the Town Hall we have Eve Wood and Pulp’s Candida Doyle attending our screening of The Beat is the Law – Fanfare for the Common People; the fantastic new documentary tracing Sheffield’s extraordinary musical heritage focusing on one iconic band, Pulp, at 9pm in Leeds Town Hall. There will be a Q&A after the screening hosted by our media partner MusicFilmWeb. If you’re looking for something more sinister you might be interested in our screening of the BBFC approved Human Centipede 2 at 11.15pm in Hyde Park Picture House, lead actor Laurence R Harvey, Katherine Templar and Emma Lock are attending the screening and are doing a Q&A afterwards.

On Saturday we have Mattias Sandström and producer Ivica Zubak of Fuerteventura attending our screening in Vue1 at 2pm; in the fascinating, cryptic psychological drama, Sandström assembles a probing meditation on grief, intimacy and identity. Later at 7pm, director of The River Used to be a Man, Jan Zabeil will be visiting Hyde Park Picture House for our screening of his original and atmospheric debut feature is an otherworldly survival tale exploring divergent European and African sensibilities. And last but not least, for those of you attending the legendary Night of the Dead, co-directors of Little Deaths, Sean Hogan and Andrew Parkinson will be at Hyde Park Picture House from midnight to talk onstage during the event. There are still a few tickets left for Night of the Dead so if you want to be at this year’s most talked about horror marathon don’t forget to book your ticket in advance or you could miss out on our 8 hours of gore, trash, shocks, laughs, scares, and the downright bizarre.

On Sunday we have Valérie Masadian at Hyde Park Picture House, the director of Nana is attending the screening at 6.30pm; Nana is a gentle and poetic evocation of a rural childhood, Nana is also a narrative innovation, telling a story almost exclusively through the eyes and words of a four-year-old child. Later in the evening director Dean Puckett and subject Dr Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed will be at Leeds Town Hall for our screening of The Crisis of Civilization at 8.45pm; The Crisis of Civilization discusses the powerful critique of a failed global system and a manifesto for constructive social change.

Huge screen highlights

Last year we introduced our huge 12 x 5 metre purpose built screen and this year we’re making more use of it than ever to present both amazing new international film and cult film screenings throughout the Film Festival. The weekend begins with sci-fi classics The Day the Earth Stood Still and Invasion of the Body Snatchers on Friday followed by two superb music films, Inni and The Beat is the Law – Fanfare for the Common People. On Saturday we have a second screening of Invasion of the Body Snatchers followed by the hugely popular World Animation Competition and then the famous Hitchcock thriller, Psycho. We finish the evening with our preview of the gory and utterly terrifying prequel of Carpenter’s 80’s classic, The Thing which is sponsored by our media partner Hebe Media and their platforms, Leeds Online and UK Observing Diary. On Sunday you have a second chance to see the sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still followed by the second instalment of the World Animation Competition. Later in the afternoon you have your first chance to see Take Shelter, the riveting drama/thriller about a Midwestern man plagued by apocalyptic visions and our final screening of the day is of Ridley Scott’s gripping and claustrophobic sci-fi classic, Alien, you don’t want to miss seeing this on the big screen!

LIFF25 Catalogue and limited edition tshirts

As you may be aware for the last few years we have created a Film Festival catalogue; the catalogue is an informative publication which tells you more about the films you discover at our event, with directors statements and interviews with those involved in the film alongside relevant industry contacts. It is a must-have publication for anyone looking to learn more about the film industry in the UK and for those of you wishing to learn more about the films you’ve loved from this year’s Film Festival. Priced at £5.00, our anniversary edition features our beautiful official image take from Wuthering Heights and includes information for every short and featured screened during our 18 day event. LIFF25 Passholders get a catalogue for free on presentation of their pass and photographic ID.

In the past, a few of you have also asked about the availability of t-shirts, this year we have a limited amount available for sale available at £7.50 (or £5.00 if you buy a catalogue at the same time) at screenings in Leeds Town Hall.

Catalogues and t-shirts will be on sale from Monday 7th November.

News round-up

Our LIFF25 passes, screenings and Major Events are now on sale at www.leedsfilm.com including Paul Merton’s Silent Clowns, Night of the Dead XI and Day of the Dead 5. LIFF25 Passes cost £95 for a single pass and £170 for a double pass: the pass gives free access to all individual screenings during LIFF25 (over 250), and big discounts on major events.

A second screening of Wuthering Heights has been announced for Tuesday 8th November at 8.15pm in Leeds Town Hall. The adaptation is a bold new version of Emily Brontë’s novel by BAFTA award-winning filmmaker Andrea Arnold. The film recently had its world premiere at Venice Film Festival where it won the prize for Best Cinematography and attracted critical claim for its radical take on the classic novel.

Paul Merton’s Silent Clowns is an event exclusive to the Film Festival and takes place on Wednesday 9th November at Leeds Town Hall, 7.15pm. It’s sure to be a laughter-filled and family-friendly highlight for all fans of comedy, film and music and tickets are selling fast so make sure you get yours before they go.

Fanomenon Night of the Dead XI returns to its regular haunt Hyde Park Picture House on Saturday 5th November at midnight and will feature an incomparable selection of horror exclusives, stunning shorts and special guests. Last few tickets remaining.

Fanomenon Day of the Dead 5 is revisiting its past by returning to the City Varieties following its recent refurbishment on Saturday 12th November at 12 noon. The City Varieties is throwing open its doors for the feast of films, guests and surprises specially selected by the Fanomenon programming team.